Nothing Too Serious
by Amber Treelights
Summary: Upon helping Naruto discover the right ways to win Sakura's heart, Ino discovers a few troubles of her own. But when her biggest mistake becomes reality, will he be able to forgive her? One-shot.


**"Nothing Too Serious"**

* * *

He'd done well. The Yamanaka girl was surprised at how well he'd done, actually. She walked alongside him, lips pursed slightly in a scrutinizing manner, searching, scraping her brain for anymore errs she might've missed. Most of the mishaps from the night, she'd caught the moment they'd happened, but…there was always the slight chance of missing one. He'd been as polite as possible, engaged in the right kind of conversation (for the most part), paid the full bill, and now, he was even holding her hand, as a gentleman looked perfect. It'd seemed perfect. But was it perfect?

She didn't know yet.

But perfection was important; without it, the whole plan could fall to ruin. And if the blonde boy next to her didn't want that, he'd have better believed that perfection was the way to go.

"_I don't know what to say, or where to bring her! Sakura's not gonna take me seriously at all if we just go to Ichiraku or something, and I really, really want her to take me seriously for once! I love her! And…and…I dunno, Ino! You're her best friend, so…I wanted to ask you for help."_

It'd been a wise decision, coming to her. Ino did know the Cherry Blossom better than most others; she knew Sakura preferred daffodils over roses, and quiet evenings over a bustling night out. She knew how a decent date should go, as she had been on quite a few, and she knew a light kiss on the cheek made a much better ending than something more on the scandalous side.

And this little fact, was exactly the reason the two blondes were now on their way back from one of the best restaurants in Konoha, hands wringed together, a quiet pace, the perfect ending to the date Naruto would soon be on with Sakura Haruno. It was genius! And at the moment, Miss Yamanaka could not feel more proud of herself, for showing the little knuckle-head how a good date should go; she'd shown him alright, and taught him well.

"Well…," the boy finally spoke, coming to a stop. "I dunno what to say, Ino."

Taken aback for a second, Ino could only freeze, brow raised as she looked as if her fellow blonde had gone mad. Thank her…? Oh, _no._ No. _This _was it…the hole she had been searching for since the two had finished dinner.

Ino began, "_Uhm! Naruto! _You're not actually thinking of _leaving _before walking me _home_, are you?"

Naruto's blue eyes widened a bit at the question, as a slight blush crept over whisker-ridden cheeks. Her tone was sharp, demanding, as if committing the act spoken of would bring the greatest demise the world had ever known! …And how right she was! The boy was struck for a second, feeling the stupidity of the move he almost made. What would Sakura think if he'd actually _done _that on the _real _date!

Ever so quickly, the jinchuuriki regained composure, vigorously shaking his head to and fro.

"N-No! I wasn't thinking of that at all, Ino!"

_Lies._

The female narrowed her azure hues at him, scrutinizing the expression he now held, and waiting for the perfect moment to respond. Obviously, he'd had every intention of splitting paths; but her flawless ability to detect such actions, had saved him this time. Lucky for _him._ Finally, Ino gave a sigh, a peaceful smile replacing the brutal scrutiny. It wasn't a _real _date, after all – nothing too serious!

She spoke, "Alright. Continue, then."

Naruto took her hand as she held it out a second time. And again, they were on their way.

On the inside, the small girl couldn't help but giggle; truly her night's companion was a sweetheart. She'd never really expected the date to go so well, or Naruto to already be so…entertaining, in the terms of dating. When she'd accepted the cry for help, she'd been fully prepared to correct his every move, show him all the right tricks for winning a girl's heart. Well – winning _Sakura's _heart, anyway. But Naruto was already pretty good at it. He'd grown a lot over the last few years, despite still retaining some of his old childish ways; which was actually a lot better than he probably thought. Charm was good, especially a gentleman's charm, but deep down, a girl always loves a guy who knows how to have fun. Who knows the proper times for seriousness and silliness, which based on tonight, Naruto seemed to know.

He was fun. Silly at the right moments, yet still perfectly able to carry on a real conversation. Ino wondered to herself if he'd been trying his best, taking the date a lot more seriously than it really was. A part of her couldn't help but believe so, as she'd even forgotten a few times that it _wasn't _meant to be serious. Her blonde trainee had made it seem so _real, _though.

She admired him, really. Which was big – for Ino. The boar _didn't _make a habit of admiring people; she just didn't. But of all the men she'd know, she couldn't say she remembered ever seeing one as dedicated to a girl as Naruto was to her best friend. Perhaps it was simply the fact that Sakura was her best friend…or perhaps the fact that just about _anything _Naruto did was coated with passion. She didn't really know – but whatever it was, it made her smile.

He was real. And no matter what would stand in his path, he'd find a way to get past it.

"This is your place, right?"

The words bringing her back to reality, Ino blinked a few times, bringing her gaze to the house she recognized as her own. The walk had been so quick, and only now did she realize they'd barely spoken a word. She probably should've said something to him about that; but given that the date was over, it'd probably only worry him more. No need.

Hesitantly, she said, "…Yeah. This is it."

After the response, she turned to him with a smile, taking his hands in her own. All those thoughts from before, had her heart warmed up in ways she didn't even realize. The night was over. And what a night it'd been.

"Night, Uzumaki," the last words escaped her mouth, and before she'd even come to her senses, she ended the date just as she thought any other was meant to end.

Perfection.

_But…something was wrong…_

The perfection was in her mind, but the look in her date's eyes was far from it. Still holding his hands, Ino blinked a time or two, confusedly wondering what had him so frozen all of a sudden. He'd been perfectly alright a moment ago, and now it was almost like the night had taken a horrible wrong turn… and finally… it dawned on the girl, the mistake she had just made.

Instantly, she pulled her hands away, eyes now matching his own wide, scared ones.

_She had kissed him._

"N-Naruto…," she began, in a tone he was probably the only one to have ever witnessed. "Ohmygod…I…"

The girl could feel every ounce of blood she had seeping up to her cheeks; she'd done many things, but never had she _accidentally_ locked lips with someone. Let alone someone who was also in love with her best friend. She took a step back, trying to catch her breath again. Averting her gaze to the ground, she waited for the moment to end, for herself to wake up and realize the entire evening had been nothing but a dream. A crazy gone-horribly-wrong dream.! Ino couldn't feel her legs anymore.

She swallowed hard, trying to speak, but nothing would come out.

"…I'll see ya later."

Naruto's voice wasn't nearly as choked as hers, but held a quiet wisp only a trust-broken heart's could hold. Nothing. No yelling. No hurtful words. No disgusted glares. _I'll see ya later, _was all he said. Then he was gone. Leaving the words to replay in the girl's mind over, and over, and over, and over. Until her ears blew off the sides of her pretty little head. He may not have been hateful towards her, and the mistake she'd made…but the sting in his voice said enough. She hadn't angered him; she'd hurt him. Badly. He'd trusted her with his feelings, and she'd taken that trust and torn it in half. With one, small, kiss.

_Naruto, wait…_

He'd probably been saving that kiss for Sakura.

_I'm sorry…_

And now it'd been stolen away, by none other than her best friend.

_I'm sorry!_

But even if he'd been there to hear, the words wouldn't have changed a damn thing.

When Ino finally made it into her house, closing the door behind her, all she could do was lean against it, and let herself slide to the floor. The Barbie had always been told she was too lovely for tears. But this time, this night, was one of the moments she couldn't believe such a statement, no matter how hard she tried.

Perhaps it truly was him; perhaps deep down, in the core of her heart, she'd always been the type to want the things she knew she could never have. And in the end, spending a night like this was doomed to fail since the very beginning. She couldn't say she knew for sure. However, what she did know, was that Sakura deserved much better than a friend like her. And so did Naruto.

* * *

The next day didn't bring much of a difference to the Yamanaka household. The sun still shone. The birds still sang. The nightmare was still real. Ino couldn't do much except wonder how hurt her blonde friend still was, and hope he would still take the advice she'd given him, despite how much she'd ruined the end of it. She may have made the biggest mistake that evening, but Naruto still had a foolproof way to win Sakura's heart if he listened to her. And more than anything, she wanted him to succeed. Despite the inner desires she might have, despite how much she could hate Sakura sometimes, she still wanted him to succeed.

Even if he never spoke to her again.

As Ino opened the door for the knocking that sounded, she almost had to knock herself in the head to make sure she wasn't dreaming again. But she knew she wasn't.

"Hey."

The Barbie breathed out the name, "Naruto…"

Her guest averted his blues for a moment, but continued to speak.

"Mind if I come in?"

As she couldn't find anymore words, Ino widened the doorway for him, allowing him entrance. Of all things, she'd never expected something like this; but if it was happening, she would gladly accept it. Had he forgiven her? Was he here to accept an apology? She didn't know…but she would try. She was entirely prepared, even if she wasn't – she would apologize, encourage him to go after Sakura. _It was a mistake. That's all it was, Naruto. _

The two stood across from each other for a moment's time, avoiding eye contact for the most part. The girl grew more nervous with each second, and each second, she replayed the words she wanted to say in her mind. She was sorry. So sorry. She hadn't meant to ruin the friendship they had, to make him think she'd done all this for her own gain. She hadn't! She knew what Sakura meant to him.

And finally…she raised her head, azure hues already glimmering.

"Naruto…I'm so sorry."

But her trainee only shook his head at the words, brows furrowed as if she'd said the furthest thing from what he'd come to hear. Ino could hear her heart pounding in her ears as her eyes widened at the response; perhaps she really didn't know why he was here standing in front of her. She looked away again, biting her lip, but just as she could feel the catharsis approaching, Naruto spoke.

"I know."

Ino looked to him again.

He continued, "But…I'm the one who should be sorry."

Once the words had escaped his mouth, the jinchuuriki lifted his head, brows still furrowed sadly. But after a second or two, a small smile made itself known. Ino only stood frozen as he slowly came forward, closing the gap between them, and ever-so-gently meeting her lips with his own. Shocked at first, the female felt as if she her whole body would soon float from the ground; but soon, she relaxed, unsure if she understood the action, but accepting of it nonetheless.

It was a chaste kiss, nothing but a light touching of lips. But even still, Ino's cheeks felt warm enough to chase away the coming winter. If that wasn't the most unexpected moment of her life, she didn't know what was. And as it came to an end, she only looked up at the boy, awaiting the reason behind such an act.

"What kind of date would I be," he told her. "if I left Sakura feeling bad for kissing me?"

Eyes wide, Ino couldn't think of the first good response to the question.

Her date continued, taking a hand in his own, "I'm surprised you didn't wring my neck over that, Ino… after all, it was nothing too serious. But anyway…I just came to say thank you…for everything."

And with those final words, he gave the smile she was sure she'd never see again for the rest of her blonde days. Still without words, the girl honestly couldn't tell whether she was more relieved, or surprised. But she certainly felt as though she could collapse at any given moment. He was apologizing…for making her worry.

Naruto was gone just as soon as he'd come; that was his way, after all. If anyone on the planet would do what he just did, it was him and him alone. He was different. He never saw things in the exact same way others did; he saw it all in a completely different light…always. _Nothing too serious… _and he still had no idea of the feelings she had buried underneath. Perhaps that was the reason the boar couldn't help but be a little jealous. And at the thought, she could only smile, stifling a soft smirk.

That Sakura was one lucky bitch.

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